Congratulations to the Top Ten and the Top Five Pizza Places in Oakland!
All this talk about pizza got me reminiscing about an unforgettable Oakland pizza experience at Dopo. It was so unforgettable, I wrote about it on my old blog about 6 years ago and it’s still one of my favorite posts of all time. This really happened and thinking about it makes me want to go back and see if Dopo’s pizza is still as amazing as it was on this day…
pizza was on my mind for an entire week, so i decided to pick one up from dopo on my way home. it was a white pizza (which just means it doesn’t have red sauce), topped with housemade pancetta, asparagus and thinly sliced red onions. i watched the cook check the bottom crust to make sure it was brown. she pulled it out with a pizza peel, sprinkled shredded white cheese, cut it into slices and slid it in the box.
photo: Christina Mitchell
i got in my car and the aroma immediately filled every breath of air. i made it exactly one block before i had to pull over. somehow, i remembered to take this picture before i grabbed a slice and shoved a corner in my mouth.
with wide eyes, i exclaimed, “WOW!”
the salty pancetta brought out the sweetness from the asparagus.
mmmmmm
i sped home, rushed in the door, poured myself a glass of wine, plopped down on the couch and gently placed the pizza box on the table in front of me. i grabbed another slice. the chewy texture of the cured meat highlighted the tender slices of vegetable.
mmmmmmm
the crust was so thin and crackly on the bottom – and chewy on the edges.
mmmmmm
after a while, i noticed that i was moaning after every bite.
mmmmmm
this reminded me of a book i read last summer, eat pray love. i raced to the shelf and grabbed the book, glancing at the pizza every couple seconds to make sure it was ok.
“so sophie and i have come to pizzeria da michele, and these pies we have just ordered – one for each of us – are making us lose our minds. i love my pizza so much, in fact, that i have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me, in return. i am having a relationship with this pizza, almost an affair. meanwhile, sophie is practically in tears over hers, she’s having a metaphysical crisis about it.”
yes! that’s exactly what i feel like. i’m delirious! i’m high! i’m high on pizza! i took another bite.
mmmmmm
i had to call a friend to share what just happened.
“hello?”
“i’m high on pizza!”
he laughed. i explained that pizza was invented in naples and i read the passage from the book to see if that will help him understand. he laughed again.
“i have to go to naples!”
“you cannot go to naples just to eat pizza.”
my face drops into a frown as i try to think about which friend i should have called in a moment like this. i’m having a revelation. this is not a game. i don’t need to be discouraged right now. i need to be uplifted. i need to fly and soar and frolic. i wonder if pizzeria da michele is still… what did he say? how can i concentrate when this beautiful, lovely, gorgeous pizza is just sitting there, patiently waiting for me??? what? he has to get off the phone? yes!!! i mean…
“ok, talk to you later.”
without wasting a nanosecond, i dove into the pizza box again and resurfaced with another triangle of love. this time, i noticed the pepper in the pancetta. my tongue was so happy, it was dancing in my mouth.
mmmmmmmm
at this point, i wasn’t even hungry anymore. but i couldn’t stop. just. one. more. slice.
mmmmmmmmm
finally, i flopped back on the couch and looked at the lonely slice of pizza that was left in the box. “did i really just eat almost an entire pizza? by myself? oh well. it was delicious.”
and that was the last thing i remembered before i fell asleep on the couch, smiling and dreaming about naples.
Christina Mitchell
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